Automobile sleigh



March 22, 1932- J. w. ROBERTS v AUTOMOBILE SLEIGH Filed April 24, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet Marchr 22, 1932. J. w. ROBERTS AUTOMOBILE SLEIGH FiledApril 24, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 1 22,'` y 1932 UNrri-:Dsrirresl J' OSEEHy W. ROBERTS, "OFPORTAGE LA. IPRAIRIE,`MANITOBA,,CAN'AIDAi AUTOMOBILE SLEIGH Application filed April 24,

The invention relates to improvements in automobile sleighs and anobject of the invention is to provide a device particularly adaptedforoperating on snow or ice and .which is arranged to give aparticularly large traction tread in contact with the road surface whichprevents the sinking of the vehicleV and insures also of the effectivepropulsion of the same. g A further obj ect is to construct the devicesothat it can be readily applied on an existing type of' automobilechassis without requiring extensive alterations in the same and lsuchthat existing manufactured parts can be utilized in the assembly.

A further object is to construct the appliance so that the road shockwill be effectively absorbed and such that either o-f the road Y wheelsutilized may pass over an obstruction gb without imparting its movementto the other wheel. l

A further object is to construct the chain connecting the wheels inasimple, durable and inexpensive manner and such that it can be appliedonand will operate over Vthe tires of thewheels and such that aneffective .traction surface is presented. to the road when the device isin use.

A further object is to pro-vide a construc- 3o tion wherein radius rodsare utilized to connect the .rear driving axle housings to the Vfra-Ineand Ytie rods are utilized to hold the front .axle in spaced relationtothe rear axle kWhile permittingof the independent sway-v ing movementof the axles in a rsubstantially vertical direction. Y g

A further Vand more specific object is to provide forwardly and`rearwardly extendmgahinged arms. pivotally mounted in respect .to theframe and having their forward and .rear ends swivelly attached to thefront Vand rear axles and to associate with the arms a, .springypreventing them collapsing n under fthe rload of the vehicle andkopera-ting to kcause :the load to be transmitted through the .arms tothe axles. n

With the above moreimportant objects in view, vthe invention consistsessentially in the arrangement and constructionk ofparts 5 4hereinaftermore particularly described, ref- Y .cross brace 7 carried by the frameandthe 1930. kSerial No. 447,058.

erence being had to the accompanying drawings, in whicht- .l

Fig. '1 is a vertical sectional view longitudlinally and centrallythrough my, automobile s elgh.

Fig. 2 is aplan view of the parts appearing 5 in Figure l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed `horizontal sectional view at '3-3 Figure1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view at '4--4 60 y Figure 3.

Fig. `5 is a inner rings.

Fig. l6 is ak perspective view ofva portion of the chain.A `f i Fig. 7is a perspective view of one of the chain yplates `and showing it ininverted position to expose the saddle. y

Fig.y Sis a perspective view of one ofthe front. runners and yassociatedparts.

Fig.` 9 is a perspective viewof .a portion'of the pivotl connectionconnecting the .rear `arm to the housing. y

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the flared head of one of the yaxlehousings. y

In the drawings like characters of refer ence indicate correspondingparts in the several figures. 1

In carryingout .my invention, I utilize the conventional automobileframe. l which carries forwardly the customary internal combustionengine 2, the eng-ine driving the propeller or drive shaft contained inthe shaft perspective view of one. of the f Vhousing- 3. Usually thehousing extends ,an-

gularly rearwardly and downwardly from the end of the enginetransmission casebeing connected thereto by ra universal joint 4.

In my case, however, I retain the universal joint 4 although such is notnecessary and utilize a further universal joint indicated at 5' in thepropeller shaft, the front ,portion of the propeller shaft in advance ofthe oint 5 having the rear end thereof permanently secured in anysuitable manner as indicated at G-.to a

rear part 3 of the propeller shaft theninclines rearwardly anddownwardly -to lthe customary differential gear housing 8 corr. tainingthe` customary differential gearsutilized to drive the usualrear axles 9contained in the rear axle housings 10. Here it will be observed thatthe rear axles are located considerably to the rear of the main frame.

The axle housings terminate in the customary flaring heads 11 and theheads are connected by the rear radius rods 12 and 13 to the drive shafthousing as best shown in Figure 2. The rear ends of the radius rods areforked (see Figure 4) and are fastened by the bolts 14 and 14 to theheads 11 in the usual manner and the heads are also provided with arearward bolt 15 utilized for a purpose later disclosed and which bolthas the same location in regard to the head and ina Ford type ofautomobile as the brake shoe supporting bolt. The outer end of each rearaxle supports in the usual way the rear driving wheel 16 supplied on theinner side with the customary brake drum 17.

The bolts 14 and 14 and that 15 are utilized to fasten also to the headan annular inner ring 18 and on the latter ring, I mount y slidably ineach instance an outer ring 19 which is held from displacement laterallyby side clips 20. The forward side of the ring 19 is provided withopposing lugs 2l which receive a. vertically disposed pivot bolt 21.

To the rear end of the main frame, I secure permanently by U-bolts 22 asupporting cross shaft 23, the ends of which project beyond the sides ofthe frame and are each provided with fixed collars 24. A sleeve 25 ismounted rotatabl on each end of the cross shaft and on the s eeve, Imount rotatably the forward end of a rearwardly extending arm 26 whichhas the rear end thereof terminating immediately to the inner side ofthe rings in a location above the rear axle housing andadjoining thehead thereof. A pivot bolt 27 connects the rear end of the arm to theupstanding side lugs carried by a plate 28 underlying the arm and theplate is provided with a further pair of downwardly extending lugs 29which receive a pivot bolt 30 connecting them pivotally to a sleeve 31which sleeve is formed integrally with a further sleeve 32 underlyingthe same and positioned at right angles thereto and pivotally mounted ona bolt 33 permanently fastened to the head of the housing. In the abovemanner, the rear end of the arm is pivotally attached to the housing topermit it to rock as occasion may demand under operating conditions.

On the sleeve 25, I mount a further sleeve 34 which is permanentlyfastened to the inner sleeve 25 such as by a key 35 and the sleeve 34carries a forward extension 35 permanently bolted as indicated at 36 toa forward arm 37y contained in the plane of the arm 26 and having theforward end thereof connected by a pivot bolt 38 to upstanding lugscarried by avmember 39 which is in turn pivotally mounted on a bolt 40carried by lugs extending upwardly from a Vsleeve 41 rotatably mountedon a forward cross shaft 42, the sleeve being secured to the outer sideof a collar 43 secured to the shaft.

The shaft is cranked as shown and on the outer ends of the shaft I mountrotatably similar wheels 44 positioned directl in advance of and of thesame size as w ieels 16. Brace bars 45 and 46 are secured to the outersides of the arms 26 and 37 and these have their adjacent ends rotatablymounted on the outer end of the sleeve 25. A leaf spring 47 is locatedunderneath the joint connecting thc arms 26 and 37, the spring engagingthe joined ends of the arms and having the outer ends thereof connectedby shackles 48 of the usual type. It will be observed that the load onthe frame is transmitted through the shaft to the arms at their point ofjuncture and that the springs prevent collapse at this point so that theload is transmitted to the front and rear wheels 44 and 16. The springs,however, yieldingly support the load as will be readily understood.

Between the sleeve 41 and the collar 43, I locate a further sleeve 49which is pivotally connected at 50 to the forward end of a tie rod 51,the rear end of the tie rod being rotatably mounted on the bolt 21hereinbefore mentioned. The tie rod is provided with suitable means foradjusting the length of the same and serves to anchor the flaring headof the rear axle housing to the front shaft. The shaft 42 is cranked sothat it will clear the propeller shaft should said cranked shaft riseand in order to hold the cranked shaft in a relatively fixed position Ihave pivotally connected to it centrally a tube 52 which telescopicallyreceives the rear end of a rod 53, the forward end of which is ivotallyconnected to the forward end 3 o the ropeller shaft. The forward end ofthe ro and the rear end of the tube are supplied with hooks which carrythe ends of a coiled spring 54,

The coiled spring is normally in tension and at such time the rear endof the rod is engaging the closed rear end of the tube. Should the crankshaft strike an obstruction on the road, the spring will extend and willthen return the parts to their original positions after the obstructionsis passed.

The wheels which are provided with the customary tires 55 are connectedby a continuous chain 56 which is formed from a. series of similarsubstantially rectangular plates 57 having eyes 58 at the cornersthereof and the plates being connected one to the other by similar links59 pivotally connected to adjacent eyes as best shown in Figure 6. Theeyes are formed at the ends of straps 60 permanently bolted to the endsof the plates. Each plate is provided at its front and rear edges withupstanding flanges 61 which reinforce said edges of the plate and theflanges carry suitably positioned lugs 62 adapted to insure of aneffective grip on the ground when the device is in use. At the innerside of each plate, I locate a saddle 63 shaped toqreceive the tire ofthe wheel, the saddle being permanently attached to the plate in anysultable manner such as by side brackets 64.

The front end of the chassis is supported by a single leaf spring 65from a cross beam 66, the ends of the spring being connected to the beamby the customary shackles 67; Arunner 68 of the type best shown inFigure 8 underlies each end of the beam and the runner is provided .withopposing side klugs 69 which receive a pivot bolt 70 and on'pthe boltbetween'the lugs, I mount a sleeve 71 which carries a verticallydisposed spindle 72,v

the spindle being rotatably mounted in the overlying end of the beam.

To the upper end of the spindle I attach a crank 73 and the rear ends ofthe cranks are pivotally connected by a cross rod 74 and to; this crossrod, I connect ythe customary steering gear rod not herein shown but ofwell known type, the arrangement being such that in the end shiftingofthe rod 74, the runners are simultaneously turned for steering purposes.

This device is particularly advantageous Y operating on snow and ice andinsures of effective traction due tothe endless chains which are incontact with the ground for a considerable area. By providing thejointed set of arms 26 and 37 at opposite sides ofthe frame in themanner shown, either wheel is free to raise or lower without in. any wayeffecting the position of the other wheel and the springs give thedesirable resilient riding qualities and prevent collapse at the jointbetween lthe arms. The radius rods function to hold the ends of the rearaxle in their proper position but allowing of the raising and loweringof the same and the tie rods VholdA the yfront wheels intheir properposition in 'relation to the rear wheels while permitting ofthe raisingand lowering of the front wheels to accommodate yroad conditions.

\ The whole traction arrangement is particuwardly and rearwardlyextending arms rov tatablymounted on the ends of the shaft andvertically swingable, a cross shaft underlying the forward ends of theforwardly extending arms, means rotatably receiving the ends'of thelatter shaft and swivelly connected ,to

the forward ends of the latter arms, forward road wheels carried by theends of the latter e cross shaft, a rear kaxle housing underlying therear ends of the rearwardly extendingy arms and provided with .drivenroad wheels tracking behind the front wheels, means swivelly connectingthe ends of the axle housingto the overlyingends of the rearwardlyextending arms, endless chains con necting the front and rear wheels,tie rods .connecting the front shaft to the rear axle housing andholding the front axle in spaced i relation to said housing, radius rodspreventlthe frame, a rear axle housing to the rear of the frame havingthe ends thereof provided with driven rear wheels, a forward cross shaftunderlying the frame, road wheels mounted on the ends of the cross shaftrand directly in advance of the rear wheels, a rearwardly extending pairof arms having their forward ends rotatably mounted lon the ends of thestationary cross shaft and their rear ends attached to the axle housingby a doubly pivoted joint, a pair of forwardly extending arms havingtheir rear ends rotatably mounted in respect to the ends of thestationary pairv shaft and their forward ends terminating above thefront cross shaft and 'connected thereto by a doubly rpivoted joint, aspring underlying the arms at each side of the frame, said spring havingthe ends thereof connected to the arms by shackles and operating toyieldingly support the frame load imposed on the arms, endlesschainsconnecting the chain wheels, radius rods preventing rearward swing ofthe ends of the axle housing, rings rotatably mounted on the ends of theaxle housing to the inner sides of the rear wheels, sleeves rotatablymounted on the forward cross shaft to the inner sides of the frontwheels and tie rods extending ybetween the rings and the sleeves, thetie rods being pivotally connected to such parts by vertical pivotbolts.`

ySigned at Winnipeg, this 30 day of December, 1929.

JOSEPH W. ROBERTS.

